John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports

Saturday, May 6, 2023 • 4:10 PM
Citi Field • Flushing, New York
LHP Austin Gomber (2-4, 7.57) vs. RHP Tylor Megill (3-1, 4.11)
SNY

The hope on Friday was that the Mets would have a big inning to resurrect their offense on their way to winning their first baseball game this week. The Mets instead skipped the first step and went ahead and won the game 1-0. Senga had one of his best starts as a Met, the bullpen was fairly flawless, and Brandon Nimmo broke out of his slump to hit a solo homer.

The Mets have the opportunity to take the next two steps on Saturday. Have a big inning and wake up the bats. Win two games in a row. Let’s go!

Mets Lineup

Tylor Megill looks to lead the Mets on Saturday afternoon. Over six starts and 30 2/3 innings he has a 4.11 ERA, 5.65 FIP, 1.435 WHIP and a 104 ERA+. In his last three games he has allowed 10 runs from 17 hits and eight walks, leading to a 6.14 ERA over 14 2/3 innings. Only two players on the Rockies have seen Megill in a major league game before. Kris Bryant is 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and Randal Grichuk is 0-for-2. Will this be the Megill bounce back game?

Opposing Lineup

Austin Gomber has made six starts and pitched 27 1/3 innings with a 7.57 ERA, 6.36 FIP, 1.638 WHIP and a 68 ERA+. Despite those awful numbers, which are heavily influenced by a game in Pittsburgh where he allowed nine runs over two innings, he’s been quite good his last two starts. In those two games he has allowed only one run from six hits and five walks over 11 innings. He pitched against the Mets once last year in Colorado where he held the Mets to two runs on seven hits over seven innings. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

Game Notes

According to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, the Mets have informed the Rockies that Joey Lucchesi will start the final game of the series on Sunday. Lucchesi, who has a 3.86 ERA this year, will be pitching on short rest after throwing only 46 pitches last time out.

Carlos Carrasco has been throwing at Citi Field but won’t be able to make his scheduled rehab start this weekend due to a virus. Carrasco, who has been dealing with a bone spur in his elbow, was slated to return by mid-May but that is likely to be pushed back due to this latest setback.

Three Things To Watch For

  1. Can the Mets take the series? One of the things that made last year’s team so amazing was their ability to win series. They rarely got long winning streaks, but rather consistently took two of three games or three of four games and watched the wins pile up. The Mets haven’t been in a position to take a series since April 22nd in San Francisco. They can take the series against the Rockies on Saturday.
  2. Is Brandon Nimmo back? Brandon Nimmo went 2-for-3 with a walk on Friday. His two hits were a double and a homer. Nimmo has shown to be a streaky hitter this season, essentially starting the season cold, then becoming the hottest hitter in the league before going ice cold again. If he gets a hit on Saturday, it will be the first time since April 22nd that he had at least three consecutive games with a hit.
  3. Checking in on the Mets bullpen. The Mets bullpen was excellent on Friday and used their three most consistent pitchers: Smith, Robertson and Ottavino. Robertson and Ottavino both didn’t pitch on Thursday (although Ottavino blew the first game on Wednesday) so they should be good to go today if the Mets need them. Drew Smith has now tossed 35 pitches in back to back days.

Let’s go Mets!